Police & Sheriff’s Reports

• Saturday afternoon about 4:09 p.m. LaGrange Police responded to the Belk department store at the La-Grange Mall in reference to Shoplifting.

Officers arrived and made contact with contact an employee and suspect, Ashley Gates, in the parking lot.

The loss prevention employee stated that Gates and another female, later identified as Precious Durham, entered the together and selected four items of clothing. Gates picked up a pair of jeans and a red polo shirt and Durham had two polo shirts.

Around 4:02 p.m., the females were seen walking through the store while trying to take the security tags off the shirts. When they were unable to remove the tags, they both entered the dressing room area. Another employee then followed them into the dressing room area and discovered that both females had entered the same dressing room.

When they exited the dressing room, Gates was the only one that had any items and it was just the single pair of jeans. Durham was later determined to have all three polo shirts, valued at $108.50, inside her jacket.

Durham was seen afterwards walking through the store adjusting her jacket.

After the two exited the store without paying for the items, store employees confronted them. Gates then fled across the parking lot and the second female got into her vehicle and left the parking area.

Police reviewed security video of the incident, which showed the events exactly as loss prevention had described, so Gates was placed under arrest for shoplifting.

In a subsequent interview, Gates claimed she could not understand why she was being arrested for shoplifting.

Police ran a criminal history check for Gates determined she had multiple previous convictions for shoplifting, making this incident a felony. A warrant was also issued to Durham for Misdemeanor Shoplifting.

As a result, Gates, age 27, was arrested and transported to the Troup County Sheriff’s Office where she was booked into the jail charged with Felony Theft by Shoplifting.

• Saturday afternoon around 12:27 p.m., LaGrange Police were in the area of East Render Street when officers observed a blue 2013 Dodge Ram truck pass by with an odor of marijuana.

Due to odor of marijuana coming from the vehicle as it passed, officers conducted a traffic stop on the truck after following the vehicle and continuing to smell the odor of marijuana.

Police made contact with the driver, Charles Rackow, and continued to smelled an odor of marijuana coming from the vehicle, so he was then detained while the vehicle was searched.

During the search, officers found two partially consumed suspected marijuana cigarettes in the upper tray of the center console and a metal smoking pipe that contained additional suspected marijuana.

As a result, Rackow, age 58, was arrested and transported to the Troup County Sheriff’s Office where he was booked into the jail charged with Possession of Marijuana – Less than an Ounce.

• West Point Police responded to an incident of Fraud which was reported on Stocks Circle.

• West Point Police took a report for Assault which was reported on West 15th Street.

•Jeffery Lashone Ferrell, of West Point, was arrested by West Point Police for Disorderly Conduct.

The individuals listed have been cited/arrested/charged in Troup County. However, this is not an admission of guilt. All parties are considered innocent until proved guilty.